Kazuki Hoshino (racing driver)

Kazuki Hoshino (星野一樹 - Hoshino Kazuki; born October 13, 1977) is a semi-retired Japanese professional racing driver and current team principal (team director) of Team Impul in the Super GT Series and Super Formula Championship.[1][2][3] He is the son of former racing driver and Impul co-founder, Kazuyoshi Hoshino.

He is a two-time Super GT GT300 class champion (2008, 2010), a four-time Super Taikyu Series champion (2004 ST-3 class, 2014, 2018, and 2019 ST-X class), and a former Nissan factory GT500 driver with his father's team from 2006 to 2007 where he won the 2006 Suzuka 1000km. He also raced in the Formula Nippon (now Super Formula) Championship for Impul in 2006.

Hoshino announced his retirement from racing in Super GT after the 2021 season, and became the Technical Director at Team Impul in 2022. That season, Impul won its first GT500 class championship in 27 years. In 2023, Hoshino succeeded his father as the team director of Impul's Super GT and Super Formula teams.[4] Hoshino also announced the creation of a new team in Super Taikyu, which would compete in the ST-Z (GT4) class with a new Nissan Z GT4.[5][6]

Outside of Japan, Hoshino competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race on several occasions, finishing ninth overall in 2015 alongside Michael Krumm, Lucas Ordoñez, and Alex Buncombe. In 2013, Hoshino participated in the Blancpain Endurance Series (now GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with JRM Motorsport alongside Steven Kane and Peter Dumbreck.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Nissan/NISMO announces 2023 motorsports programs". Global Nissan Newsroom. 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  2. ^ "2023 ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL|SUPER FORMULA 公式WEBサイト". スーパーフォーミュラ|SUPER FORMULA 公式WEBサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  3. ^ "Tandds | SUPER GT OFFICIAL WEBSITE". supergt.net. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  4. ^ "IMPUL Corporate Profile". www.impul.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  5. ^ "Notice of Participation in the 2023 Super Taikyu". www.impul.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  6. ^ "Super Taikyu Series Publishes Provisional 62 Car Entry For 2023 | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  7. ^ "Kazuki Hoshino | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  8. ^ "NISMO | SUPER GT インフォメーション". NISMOホームページ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-20.